A Turkish broadcasting company has officially apologized for having mistakenly used a photo of South Korean President Moon Jae-in in covering a horrendous murder case, the foreign ministry said Monday.

The apology was made by an announcer during the prime-time news program of Show TV on Sunday night (local time), according to the ministry.

"Our news (program) used the photo of the president mistakenly. It was done totally inadvertently, and for this mistake, (we) apologize to the president and the people of our brotherhood country" the ministry quoted the announcer as saying.

This photo, provided to Yonhap News Agency by a subscriber, is a capture from a Turkish TV program aired Feb. 25, which showed President Moon Jae-in`s photo while covering a murder case. (Yonhap)

On Feb. 25, Show TV used Moon's photo in a news program covering the murder of a Filipino maid in a Middle East country. The broadcaster deleted the online video after receiving strong complaints from the South Korean mission in Turkey.

The foreign ministry has lodged a protest with the Turkish broadcasting station and called for a formal apology through its program. The broadcasting company recently sent an apology letter to the Seoul government. (Yonhap)